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Friday, May 26, 2017

MIAA Boys' Lax Seeding Instant Analysis: D3 North

Another reminder that these seeds are NOT official until tomorrow morning. That said, we're moving on with some quick thoughts from the D3 North bracket.

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A Two-Seed, but a Favorite

Ipswich comes in as the No. 2 seed in this bracket, but the Tigers have to feel pretty confident having beaten top seeded Hamilton-Wenham by 16 goals a month ago. That said, this explosive team was elf down by 4-seed Triton, and had to come from behind to top Groton-Dunstable in recent weeks.

Still, when you're capable of scoring 15 or more goals on any given day, you get favorite status.

Hamilton-Wenham Knows How to Win

On the other side of that coin is Hamilton-Wenham, a team that was blown away by Ipswich, but thrived in close games. The Generals went an absurd 9-0 in games decided by four goals or less, including an overtime win over Melrose, and a four-overtime win over Chelmsford.

Basically, when things are tight, the Generals play loose. That should suit them well, as they enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed with a target on their collective back.

Potential Sleepers

Can you call a three seed a sleeper? Maybe not, but Austin Prep looks like a team that could upend both of our top two seeds. The Cougars are limping into the tournament a bit, having lost two of their last three, but they don't really have a bad loss to speak of, and they've only given up double-digit goals twice all season (once in an OT win over Pentucket).

This is a team that can grind and win with defense, and a timely scoring, and has shown itself capable of beating a slew of fellow tournament teams.